A long time ago, going on a road trip was the only way that a family could enjoy time together.
When I was young, my family and I went on road trips all the time.
Sometimes we went to the beach and sometimes we went to the mountains. Sometimes we spend a week at the lake and we always took the family station wagon everywhere that we went. I remember one trip in particular, because we stayed in a rundown motel with no AC. My mom and dad were taking turns driving, but it was very late at night. It must have been close to midnight, because the hotel office was closed when we arrived. My dad had to wake up the manager to get a room. The hotel was the only place to sleep for 75 miles and we didn’t have a ton of options like today. We stayed at the dingy and run-down hotel, even though it didn’t have any central AC. There was a small window AC unit, but it smelled bad and the vent was full of flies. As long as I live, I will never forget that night in the hotel or that AC unit. The whole room looked like a scene from a horror movie and I can’t believe that my parents thought it was safe to stay there for the night. Nowadays, that place would be declared condemned and closed down. Of course, all the small private hotels are being run out of business by large chains like Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, and Best Western. The old ways of life will soon be gone forever.